One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is having to look for ANYTHING!

I’m one of the most organized people ON the freaking planet! Everything has a place and in it’s place it is. That is UNTIL someone else in the house needs something.

Prime example – we have this issue with iPod headphones. Everyone else in the house seems to misplace theirs or lose them. Rather than looking for their own – they grab mine! My PINK headphones, I purposely purchased thinking the inhabitants of Lake Testosterone would not use them because they are pink.

Wrong!

Now, I don’t use them every single day like everyone else – so days may go by before I realize they are missing. By then, whoever ‘borrowed them WITHOUT permission’ has:

1. forgotten they borrowed them
2. forgotten where they put them

That’s when I find myself fuming with rage, turning the house upside down looking for MY headphones that were placed in their PROPER place – right where I (and obviously everyone else) know where to find them.

I finally got smart and found a pretty snazzy hiding place for my iPod and headphones.

Today, it’s my black marker – the one I keep in the kitchen because I might just need it sometime – Like RIGHT effing now for instance!

I swear – when they move out – I will get even. I’m keeping note of everything they do that pisses me off and I’ll turn right around and do it back.

• muddy shoes across the carpet
• loud noises in the middle of the night (especially when they have young kids. that should be fun)
• globs of toothpaste on, in and all around the bathroom sink
• sweating glass of drink setting on their coffee table taking special care to leave a ring
• being very noisy and disruptive when they’re trying to watch something important

And that’s just to name a few… The list does go on and is a constant work in progress.

Most people who know me, know my older brother passed away when I was 10. While Tony was with us, he taught us many valuable lessons – but one lesson my family learned during his life was to mind the gas tank in your car.

The morning Tony woke with a horrible headache, my mother got ready to take him to the hospital but was unable to because the fuel gauge was registering empty.

We lived in the country and the nearest gas station was in the opposite direction of the hospital and there wasn’t that much time to waste.

Mom was faced with thinking through what action would get them to the hospital quicker.

• Should she call the closest friend who happened to be at home on a workday?
• Should she call 911?
• Should she jump in the car and hope it makes it? (Remember, this was well into the PRE cell phone era)
• Should she take the car to the gas station in the opposite direction then go to the hospital?

Keep in mind, Tony had fallen unconscious at this time.

NO parent should have to stop to evaluate a situation based on the amount of gas in the car! Ever!

Keeping that single event in mind, I have realized you NEVER know when an emergency is going to happen – so be prepared. Never let your gas tank get below a quarter of a tank.

I already see this lesson has stuck with my kids. When Trey’s gas gauge gets close to the quarter mark, he makes a point to get gas before he parks the Blazer or the night.

Unfortunately, my husband is learning this lesson the hard way. He called this morning having ran out of gas on the interstate near a work zone. As I got ready to take gas to him, he called back telling me a nice guy in a wrecker pulled up within seconds and offered to assist. He’d only sat for about 10 minutes from the point of running out of gas to the point of starting up and moving again.

The gauge wasn’t registering empty, and the low fuel light had not come on so he thought he was safe. Which further validates my point – anything under 1/4 of a tank should be considered empty. Always!